Current Events - Week 11 Recap-Rebels, Twisters Win, Still in Playoff Hunt

Feb 11, 2008 from the AISL Newswire

Week 11 Recap-Rebels, Twisters Win, Still in Playoff Hunt

With just four weekends remaining in the 2007-08 regular season, the race for the final berth in the American Indoor Soccer League Championship Game is still tight, with three teams battling it out to earn the unenviable task of facing the Rockford Rampage for the league title on March 15th.

After Saturday night’s action, just four standings points separate the Cincinnati Excite, Massachusetts Twisters, and Northern Illinois Rebels, who are all jockeying for second place.

In Springfield, hat tricks by Jeff Deren and Kyle Texiera helped power the Massachusetts Twisters to a 12-4 hammering of the Cincinnati Excite. The win put the Twisters into a dead heat for second with the Excite, both of which have records of 4-6 and 13 standings points.

Pedro Navarro added a pair of one-pointers, and Brent Dillard and Franco Catiearra each added a single of their own, and Tony Catiearra chipped in a two-pointer for the Twisters.

Matt Brienes, Shawn Rockey, Miles Sinclair, and Jack Cummings each scored a one-pointer for the Excite.

Adam Perron had a very strong game between the pipes for the Twisters, earning the win. Jim Adams took the loss for the Excite.

In Waukegan, the Northern Illinois Rebels kept their playoff hopes alive with a 4-2 victory over the Tulsa Revolution.

Rafael Beretta led the Rebels (3-6) with a pair of one-point goals, and Alex Pavon and Gabriel Corona each added a one-pointer of their own.

Michael Poneys and Monty Frazier were the goal scorers for the Revolution (1-4).

Tommy Hassan took the win in goal for the Rebels and Steven Hendrix took the loss for the Revs.

The Rockford Rampage were also in action last Saturday night, as they stepped away from their normal AISL foes to host the Chicago Storm of the Major Indoor Soccer League at the Victory Sports Complex in Loves Park.

The two clubs faced off last Tuesday in an exhibition “friendly” at the Sears Center in Hoffman Estates, IL. The Storm came away that morning with a hard fought 16-14 victory.

The Storm held a 4-1 lead over the Rampage early in the fourth quarter when coach Jeff Kraft’s team narrowed the lead to 4-3 with two goals within the space of seventy seconds. However, they could not put the tying goal past Storm ‘keeper Jeff Richey, and the Storm would bag a pair of late goals to give the MISL club a 7-3 victory.

Bato Radoncic, Ante “the Law” Cop, and Zlatko Zebic each scored a one-pointer for the Rampage in the losing effort. Carlos “Chile” Farias and Stephen Brust each scored a pair of one-pointers for the Storm, Fabinho added a one-pointer, and Stephen Armstrong bagged a two-pointer late for the Storm.

Two games appear on the AISL schedule in weekend twelve. The Tulsa Revolution will make their first appearance at the Game Time Training Center when they face the Cincinnati Excite at 7:30PM (EST), and the Northern Illinois Rebels will host the AISL regular season champion Rockford Rampage in a “do or die” game for the Rebels at the Lake County Sports Center, also scheduled for a 7:30PM (CST) kickoff.

Now in it's third season, the American Indoor Soccer League has offices in West Springfield, MA (Administrative) and Cleveland, OH (Media Relations). For more information on the AISL, contact commissioner Paul LaPointe at (413) 569-0088 or director of media relations Rich Paschette at (216) 741-4144. Information on the league can also be found on the AISL's official website, www.aisl.org.

Questions or Comments? aislpr@aol.com